The downturn of many “once great” companies can be attributed to simple ignorance. This particular form of ignorance is a product of arrogance, the arrogance to think, “we make products or services that people want” when they never bothered to ask their customers if in fact the still wanted them.

Consider how the mighty have fallen. Not too long ago every corner Mom & Pop video rental shop was put out of business and replaced by a blue and yellow phenomenon called Blockbuster, there was one of these bad boys in every corner. Again not to long ago we can still picture these guys in their boardroom boasting about how they ruled the world. Then this little thing called NetFlix happened. They obviously did not see it coming, at least not until it was perhaps too late.

The point I want to make is that they should have. There is really no excuse. You don’t need a crystal ball for this, all you need to do is pay attention. Shifts in consumer behaviors don’t happen overnight, but you can always count on the fact people change.

Companies spend an ungodly amount of time and effort keeping tabs on what their competitors are up to. It’s amazing to me how little effort they actually spend understanding their customers.

This week was “bring you Son or Daughter to work” week. It occurred to me companies should institute a new holiday – and it should be scheduled everyday.

If I have not made my point here are a few more clues – The newspaper industry, the music industry, the airline industry, and buggy whips!

No more surprises  - declare today – “Take your customer to work day”